


The Days After

by chrissy2



Category: South Park
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-09
Updated: 2015-11-20
Packaged: 2018-04-30 19:02:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 14,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5176163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chrissy2/pseuds/chrissy2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[Tweek's POV.] The drawings of them used in a speech for the entire school to see was a bit uncalled for and humiliating. He spazzes out like he spazzes about everything. Craig tries to be calm about it, in despite. Then Tweek tries to be calm about it the next day. It's no big deal. It's really not. It's just a bunch of girls drawing pictures of him with another dude. Whatever. You'll live.</p><p>Starts the day after Cupid Cartman hit Craig with one of his arrows.</p><p>Their entire world is changing. South Park is growing and so are they. There is a new, more modern principle and Mr. Garrison, a man who had taught at the school for many years, left to run for president. More and more immigrants come and share their culture, and they [Tweek, Craig, Cartman, Kyle, Stan and all the others] are struggling with growing up and finding their place in the world.</p><p>[THE DAYS AFTER, PART TWO on my page.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Fight

It was really not a big deal. Tweek was just overreacting with the whole thing, just like he overreacted to everything else. And Craig was calm about it, of course; as ridiculous as this whole thing was. And the more Tweek thought about it, the more embarrassed he became. He needed to be cool about it, like Craig. Spazzing out never helped anyone. He really needed to cut down on the coffee. His parents kept the coffee going because they thought it calmed him down. It really didn't, but he never liked talking with his parents about anything. They never finished anything. They never got to the point. He loved them, but they drove him crazy sometimes; among other things that drove him crazy. His parents were accepting of the whole gay thing, which was cool of them. Especially since South Park had been recently slandered as the "shitheads of America" for their backwardness and intolerance. (Craig's parent's may have felt differently about it, though. They did not seem to be prepared for the twenty-second century just yet.)

He was just going to have to let it be. It's just a bunch of girls drawing pictures of him with another dude. Whatever. And it's just as the PC principle said: There was nothing wrong with being gay. Or at least looking gay. Hell, not too long ago, the boys were fighting over who was the most "metrosexual" or "bisexual" or whatever. And then Wendy tried being a genderfluid for a while. Wendy had always been so modern and cool. 

Tweek rides the bus to school and feels the burning stares of everyone on him. Or maybe it was all just in his head. He trembles and twitches all the way down. (Calm down, calm down, calm down.) His heart stops and his breath shortens when the bus reaches its destination. (Calm down, calm down, calm down.) He waits for everyone else to step off to sort of linger at the tail of the crowd. But the burns still seem to follow him as he steps inside the school and makes his way to his locker. 

(It's no big deal. Fuck what everyone thinks.) He makes it to his locker and tampers with the knob. Because of his rapid shaking, he can barely keep a good hold onto the twist. He usually asks a friend to help him. He did not need to worry about anything being stolen. There was nothing interesting in his locker. But he did not want to talk to anyone today. He wasn't ready to live normally yet.

In between the shaking and missing his combination numbers--Tweek could feel Craig's burn on him now. He did not have to turn around to see it. The blue boy passed by to get to his first class. Or maybe Craig was taking another way today. Maybe he was trying to avoid him today too. Maybe he wasn't actually there. Maybe he was just imagining the burn. He finally unlocks his locker--

Then there is a blue tint at the corner of his eye. It's him. He knows it's him. (Goddamn it. Oh, geez. Calm down. He's probably not even looking at you. Get over yourself.)

(Focus. Focus. Okay...what do I need today? Hm. I need this...and this...)

The blue tint gets bigger and closer. Oh, god. Craig is looking at him.

Tweek finally makes a sharp jolt in his direction. They glance at each other for a moment. (And in that moment, Craig almost seemed sad. He was the blue boy. Blue on the inside as he was out.) Tweek smiles awkwardly and turns back to his locker. (Be cool, be cool, be cool). Tweek is not sure what to do now. He just kind of stands there, staring at the back wall of his locker and trying even out his breathing. Sometimes Craig just liked to wonder around the halls in his boredom, and he had every right to do that. He wasn't going to disrupt that with his awkwardness. Craig rarely talked to anyone. He was kind of a loner. He did not follow a cliché or whatever. He always seemed to look right through people, call out on their bullshit and did what he wanted. 

Tweek grabs his notebook and textbook, slowly closing his locker. He tries to move quickly but quietly to avoid the blue boy--

But Craig is standing right there. Their eyes lock again--twitching eyes with sadness. And this time, out of pressure, Tweek says a little louder than he intended, "WHAT?"

At first, Craig seems shocked (and so does everyone else around them), then his eyebrows knot in anger. "What? You got a problem?"

Craig was now seeing this as a challenge and that is not what Tweek wanted at all. He really didn't want to the hospital with him again. The blue boy stomps over to him and everyone turns to watch them. 

OH, GEEZ.  
WHERE'S MY COFFEE?  
I DON'T WANT TO FIGHT.  
NOT AGAIN.  
I DON'T WANT TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL.  
I DON'T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS.  
PLEASE DON'T.

The rest is blacked out in an overwhelming mixture of anxiety and anger and something else. Before he knew it, Craig was shoving him and yelling at him. He totally lost his cool. What was wrong with him? He himself was acting strangely, but he was ALWAYS acting weird. This was so unlike Craig. 

"What's your problem!"

"MY PROBLEM? YOU'RE THE ONE WITH THE FUCKING PROBLEM!"

Then Craig jumps at him and they found themselves rolling around on the floor--punching, clawing, smacking. And as they fought, he was sure he heard that fat ass Cartman say something smug like, "Geez, guys. Get a room."


	2. Wendy Apologizes

When the teachers broke the fight up and escorted them to the PC, both were head to toe in bruises, but not in a state for hospitalization. The two bruised boys were seated at the principle's desk. They pouted quietly, crossing their arms, avoided eye contact and waited for the principle to finish making phone calls. (Fiddling with what looked like...tweezers in his hand? Or a can opener or something.) He called Tweek's parents first, who would most likely be annoyingly supportive of it all. Even if they wouldn't turn out to be, Tweek was still honestly too angry to anticipate what kind of punishment they had in store. After all, it was that asshole Craig who started the fight. Tweek may have yelled at him and provoked his anger, but it was the blue boy that started the shoving and threatening. 

Next, he called Mr. Tucker, who was a bit less predictable than Mr. Tweek: "...Hello, Mr. Tucker? I need to inform you that your son was in an altercation at school today."

"Craig?" they hear through the line. "He got in a fight?" With Mr. Tucker, Tweek wasn't sure if it was a voice of disappointment or a voice that was proud. (South Park really did have that roast coming, with all their racists and gender roles and bat shit insane parents who think that fighting and being the most masculine solves everything.)

Really, the only people with any sense in this town were Kyle, Stan, Wendy and Kenny (who Tweek also appreciated for his feminine mannerisms and interests)--ironically all kids. What was it about growing up that made people crazy?

"Yes, with his boyfriend." Oh, good god. "Just a lover's quarrel, probably."

Craig then throws out a 'goddamn it' right in front of the very principle, but the PC either doesn't care or doesn't hear him. It made Tweek wonder how such a foul-mouthed troublemaker could get away with so much. Who knows how many times he has flipped teachers off in plain fucking sight and gotten away with it! Even if he WAS gay, how could girls draw him with such an asshole kid? And as for himself: he tries to be good. He has tried his whole life and no one seemed to appreciate it. People only care about troublemakers! It's times like this when Tweek identified with Butters. No one else seemed to notice, not even Butters, but poor Butters was a great kid that had been manipulated and cheated many times, mainly by Cartman. (Seeing Butters suddenly beat up a diabetic and call out on everyone's bullshit made Tweek very happy for him, but at the same time concerned. He wondered if the sweet, warm Butters he grew up with would ever come back. Fortunately, he did. His vacation to wherever seemed to help him calm down a bit.)

"...It's something to be expected in relationships. Apparently, there were some affirmative consent issues, as your son does not know the right way to play with a boy's penis." OH MY GOD, JUST STOP. PLEASE STOP. "There's not going to be any disciplinary actions since they are gay and we want to be supportive. So we're just gonna send them home with some money, alright? Alright, man. You have a nice day."

He hangs up before he can even hear Mr. Tucker's response.

Tweek and Craig endure another painfully awkward lecture from the PC on affirmative consent before being sent home with money. Why was everyone giving them money for this shit? (Not that he was complaining TOO much about it. It just made zero fucking sense.) But in despite of all the ridiculousness--in despite of the anxiety and confusion and the bruises--Tweek noticed something incredibly odd: he wasn't trembling anymore. He wasn't twitching or shaking uncontrollably. He was actually able to sit still for the entire lecture. It was as if the fighting released all the bottled up anxiety and tension he felt earlier that day. This had never happened before. If it had, Tweek did not remember.

When they are finally given permission to leave for home with their money, they left in opposite directions, with Craig stomping and huffing away as quickly as possible. Tweek sort of lingered behind and to his surprise, found Wendy waiting out beside the principle's door. 

And just when Tweek found himself wondering why Wendy was there, she smiled at him and stood up with his notebook and textbook in her hands. "Hey, Tweek. I came to give this back to you. You dropped it in the fight. Your homework for social studies is in the book cover."

Tweek smiles back. How thoughtful of her! "Oh, thank you."

"You're welcome." Wendy hands over his things, then says an apology. "And I just wanted to say sorry."

"Why are you sorry, Wendy?"

"I can't help but feel like this is my fault. I knew that power point would freak you guys out, but I never expected things to get out of hand. It was really just for laughs, you know? And to learn something interesting about Asian culture. But now you guys are fighting..."

As confused and frustrated as they both were, Tweek couldn't find it in himself to be mad at Wendy. "It's okay, Wendy. We're guys. Guys fight all the time, but we get over it." He turns away and starts walking off. "Thanks again. See you tomorrow."

Wendy smiles and waves to him. "Remember, you can always talk to me if you need me."

"I know. You're really cool."

And so, Tweek left school, bought a coffee with the money and passed supportive pedestrians congratulating him all the way home.


	3. The Plan

The day after the fight, things went back to normal. Well, a little bit. This was their second attempt at normalizing their lives. (Which may have been more difficult for Tweek than it was for the blue boy.) Tweek became a spazz and Craig became cool and level-headed again; at least, that's how it appeared to be. Craig did not stare at him sadly or start another fight with him. It was just another school day. Even so, Tweek had to text Wendy in between classes to keep himself calm. (And by calm, less spazzy than usual.) His trembling made it difficult to text and he had to constantly apologize for the errors. Goddamn autocorrect really didn't help either. It was like texting on a retarded phone with gloves on. Shithead phones for the shitheads of America.

WENDY: 'hey sorry. I had to work on a project with the girls'

TWEEK: 'its OK. just talking to u distracts me'

WENDY: 'I get that :)'

After school, he waited until most of the kids were gone and walked to his parent's coffee shop, where he stayed until their hours ended. He stayed in the back room a lot of the time to avoid the intensely curious costumers, who Tweek was sure only there for him. He also bet that his parents liked how their closeted gay son attracted so many customers in the first place. (They were going to be real disappointed to find out that him and Craig were not what everyone WANTED them to be.) While isolated away in the back room, he found himself thinking about the fight again and felt like an idiot. Even when Craig lost his shit, he was cool. Tweek was just a clutz. He thought and thought about it until his parents started asking him for help, which Tweek did not mind at all. He needed to stop obsessing over this, and Wendy's messages at that point were starting to make him angry.

WENDY: 'oh come on. I think you guys are cute ;)'

WENDY: 'you don't want to try him at least once? ;D'

WENDY: 'don't knock it til you've tried it ;D' 

As the back doors flipped in and out in between orders, Tweek caught a glimpse of Cartman. (He's hard to miss.) Seeing him waltz up to the counter like he owned the place made him scoff. That kid was the worst of them all. He ordered one cup for himself and then a second cup with a straw. At first, Tweek thought that both cups for him (which could only make sense to a caffeine addict like himself), or maybe one was for a friend or a date. But that was unlikely since Cartman was extremely unlikable. And as Tweek expected, no one was with him. He just bought two cups and sat at an empty booth by himself, placing the second cup at the opposite side as if there were someone there. But here was the strangest part: he was talking to himself. Geez. He knew the kid had issues, but he was seeing things now? Whatever he was saying, it was serious. He did not smile even once. It was actually kind of sad to watch. Eventually, he left. Didn't even sip from the second cup at all. Why waste all that coffee? When no one was looking, Tweek snuck over and stole it. He obviously needed it more than Cartman did. When he sipped it, Tweek was surprised to find that it was still very warm.

Wendy continued to pester with the idea of him getting together with Craig. And Tweek knew she probably meant no offence, that she was just trying to make light of the whole thing, but it made him upset. The continuous gay comments from Mr. and Mrs. Tweek did not really help. And by the time they got home, he was not just a spazz, but an ANGRY spazz. He went up to his room to isolate himself again, turned his phone on silent and tried to occupy himself with blocks. But his anger made him tremble so much that he could barely connect any of the legos. He throws them down in frustration and chugs down his third cup of coffee. 

Then, he hears the monotone, nasally voice: "Hey, dude."

He doesn't have to turn around to know it is the blue boy. He spews out the coffee, staining his desk and jumps out of his chair. "AH." He was starting to wonder if he was seeing shit, like Cartman was earlier. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

"Tweek, calm down," the blue boy says, laying his hands out. "We have to put a stop to this."

With that being said, Tweek throws his hands up and let's all of his frustration out: "THERE'S NO STOPPING IT. THE WHOLE WORLD WANTS ME TO BE SOMETHING I'M NOT."

"Me too, dude," Craig agrees. "But there is something we can do."

"WHAT?"

Craig goes quiet for a moment, then slowly says, "We have to come out and say we're gay."

Did he really just hear him say that? Tweek wasn't gay and neither was he. "WHAAAT? ARE YOU INSANE! THEN EVERYONE--"

"Wait, wait--!" Craig runs at him and Tweek instinctively runs around him. Craig knows he won't let him near him, and for good reason too. He was the one responsible for the fight yesterday. So he stays where he is and continues to explain. "Because if we're gay, then we can break up. And if we break up, no more pictures. We just have to stage a fake break up in front of the Asian girls."

"LIKE ACTING? NO. THAT'S WAY TOO MUCH PRESSURE."

"You can do it, Tweek." Craigs runs at him again, and Tweek let's him get close this time. "You're capable of more than you think."

Tweek doesn't move. Craig's hands are tugging at his shirt and he is inches from his face. For a moment, the trembling stops like it did before and his voice is lowered a bit. "I'm a terrible actor." 

"You just have to follow my lead and try to make it believable. Okay?" He was determined to help them both. Tweek almost felt like his friend then and there, like he was actually cared for. 

"Oh, god. Okay."


	4. Too Far

Tweek tried getting absorbed into the zone of an intense break up by listening to his mother's soap operas that evening. She really enjoyed 'The Young & the Restless', probably the world's most popular soap opera that nearly had a thirty-year running time. All of the actors that starred in the show's beginning were now twenty/thirty years older and each of their characters had either dated, married, divorced, or had one-night stands with all the other characters at least five times. One of the older characters had recently passed away and one of the newer, younger actors portrayed an antagonist so convincingly that he had been assaulted outside of work by people who took the show literally. But although they were melodramatic, Tweek always found the acting in soap operas much better and more believable than a lot of the more mainstream works of entertainment. He wondered if anyone else thought that. (Kenny was honestly the first person to come to mind when he wondered that. He was sure Kenny had gotten absorbed in a drama at least once.)

The next day, Tweek went to school feeling nervous, still feeling like he wasn't prepared for the act--and yet he wasn't trembling at all. What was it with these peaceful moments recently? Not that he didn't like it. It was very nice. It's just that the peacefulness was so alien to him that he did not know what to think of it.

It's time. He walks out into the commons area, and stops right in front of the Asian girls at the steps.

Craig follows him. "Hey, Tweek, hold up!" Tweek makes a stiff turn around to face him and let's the blue boy start this whole thing off. "Listen, it's just not going to work."

"WHAT?" Tweek wasn't spazzy at the moment as he was having one of those mysterious times of peace, but he still found himself shouting his words awkwardly. It's just as he said: he was a bad actor. "WHY NOT?"

"I'm sorry, Tweek. But we just can't lie to ourselves anymore." Craig turns to face the Asian girls and all the other kids that stopped to watch. "Yes, we are gay. But we do not belong together." Not that Craig was any better of an actor than he was. His acting was very dry, even more monotone and emotionless than he normally was.

"We don't belong together? What suddenly changed, Craig?"

"It's just that people are different. That's all."

"Uh-huh. And who the hell is Michael? Huh? You wanna tell me that?" (Because why not use Michael for this? He was a decent-looking kid.)

There's a pause, as Craig seems genuinely confused now. The dry acting stops. "Wait, what are you talking about?"

"I went through your phone when we went out last night, Craig. I saw your text to Michael about hooking up with him!"

"Wait--" (In his face, Tweek easily reads: 'Michael? As in one of the goth kids?') "That's not what happened."

"Oh, it's not?"

"No." His dry voice comes back for a bit and makes it loud so everyone can hear. "Look, we both know this is for the better."

"Oh, don't use that lame shit on me, man. You don't want to feel bad, so you try and tell me what I want?"

"Hey, don't make me out to be the bad guy here."

"No, you're not the bad guy. You're never the bad guy, are you?" Tweek becomes so intense about it that he unknowingly drew tears to his own eyes. Not from any actual sadness, but because of all the pressure put into making this act believable. "You-you just step on people and you use them."

"You're going too far, dude. This is like, totally not necessary."

Tweek turns and grabs his own hair for dramatic effect. "I'M GOING TOO FAR? What is wrong with you!"

"This wasn't part of the plan!"

"Well, guess what, Craig: love doesn't follow a plan!" (An encouraging 'yeah' is heard from Butters. Oh, sweet Butters. He was so awesome.) "I was totally wrong about you..." Now it was time for the closing of the act. "I opened myself up, let you in--but you got spikes, man. You got spikes."

And with that, Tweek turns his back on him and walks out of the commons, leaving everyone in a shocking silence. A large smile stretches across his face. He couldn't believe it. He did it! It all went so well! He was so proud of himself he could barely comprehend Wendy following him with a hurtful call of his name.


	5. The Rain

After the "break up", Tweek was stuck in absolute amazement at how well his performance went. He even managed to make himself tear up! (But let's face it: a performance like that would surely never happen again.) For the first time in years, or possibly for the first time in his life, Tweek felt confident and proud. He felt like he had broken his chains and was running free. The peacefulness had taken over completely. He was no longer trembling or yelling his words. This would surely make his parents very happy! This radiance lasted for a couple of classes, then he noticed all the sadness. All the students and teachers were frowning and Tweek wondered why. How long had they been like that? He wondered if it was the rain. But towards the end of the day, he realized that was not the case.

That's when the guilt hit him. He had caused this. THEY had caused this. The break up made everyone sad. But they would surely get over themselves. (Were they REALLY doing this? Really?) 

The guilt grew heavier and the next time he came across Wendy in the hall, he had to pull her over by the lockers to talk. "Wendy..." he starts. "Wendy, I think I've made a mistake."

"What do you mean?"

"That whole fight with Craig in the cafeteria. I went too far."

"No, you didn't, Tweek," she smiles and assures. "You showed that cheating bastard who's boss!"

Oh, geez. How was he going to explain this? "Wendy, he didn't cheat on me. We never dated to begin with. We were not actually together."

She brings a hand up to his shoulder. "But you were crying. I saw the look in your eyes. You were genuinely hurt."

"I was acting."

"Oh, wow. Well, you sure convinced me!" She was trying to make light of the situation again, and Tweek really appreciated her for that.

"But I went too far. Now everyone is sad and Craig hates me. It's all my fault."

"He doesn't hate you. Craig likes you a lot. He just doesn't realize it yet. And neither do you."

"I do like him," Tweek had to nod and agree. "Of course, I like him. Just...I'm not really sure on what kind of level. I always thought of him as just a friend, but now I'm not so sure."

Wendy steps in and gives him a hug. "These things take time. It'll work out."

Tweek hugs her back. He really needed it. They hold each other for a good five seconds. When they step apart, Wendy's attention is suddenly directed to something behind him. "What is it, Wen?" Tweek turns around. Behind him stood a staring Stan. But he wasn't really concerned about the staring Stan or whether or not he was angry or jealous for hugging Wendy. What really caught Tweek's attention was the person standing behind Stan.

It was Craig, and he was clearly distressed. Why he looked so distressed, Tweek was not too sure. All he knows is that he is not happy or even content. Not positive or even neutral; something negative. 

"Craig?" Tweek says, then directing Stan's attention to the blue boy behind him.

Tweek takes a step in that direction. He sees the blue boy and wonders if he was just as blue on the inside, like on the day of the fight. He calls to him again with no real idea in mind of what to say to him--an apology or encouraging words. But Craig is not interested in either, as he makes a sharp turn and stomps off. A few kids that had stopped to watch jump and gasp, and in response to this, Craig bellows: "WHAT ARE YOU ALL FUCKING LOOKING AT! GO AWAY. THE SHOW'S OVER. NO TWEEK AND CRAIG ANYMORE. NO YAOI. JUST LET IT GO." He throws up a bird. "FUCK ALL OF YOU."

Seeing Craig bellow like that, Tweek wanted the Earth to open up and swallow him. This was all wrong. All wrong. It was not supposed to be this way. This was supposed to pull them out of something, but they only started another sticky situation.


	6. Ambushed

When school ended, it was still raining. Tweek waited for most everyone to leave and left out the back entrance. There, he found the spray painting of him and the blue boy ruined by the rain. (Tweek then wondered how the Asians got passed the goths to make this. They were a bunch of crazy, ambitious creatures, those yaoi fan girls. He wondered where the goths went to hang out now that their territory had been vandalized with the very thing they seemed to hate. Probably to Henrietta's place to read Poe and to scream at her mom. Tweek would scream at his parents more if that actually did anything. Both of them were so oblivious and thick-headed that that would harm himself more than anything.) No doubt the news of their break up reached the entire town by that point. The teachers actually thought this was so important that they rang the PC, and the PC rang their parents.

For a while, the trip home was uneventful and Tweek did not come across one pedestrian. Then it started to sprinkle. Tweek really needed to wear a sweater more. Now that he was no longer hyped and warmed by his usual trembling, he could actually feel the cold of the rain and let out a shudder, wrapping his arms around himself. He wouldn't be surprised if he came home with a cold or a fever. Tweek thought he would be safe, but midway, a couple of boys were spotted across the street, glaring at him. A red boy and a green boy. He didn't really pay much attention to them until they made their way across the street and blocked Tweek's path, where they continued to stare him down.

"Um," Tweek started, stuttering a bit from the cold. "Can I help you?" 

The one in red speaks first. (When Tweek first saw him, he actually mistook him for Clyde, and mistook the green boy for Kyle.) "Are you Tweek?" The red boy says his name with a force, as if disgusted by it.

"Uh, yeah. I'm Tweek."

"Good. Just who we were looking for."

Tweek did not remember ever meeting either of the two. "Do I know you guys?"

"No," the red boy answers, balling his hands up into fists. "But you're about to."

"We heard you're a little fucking liar," the green boy then adds.

Then before Tweek can respond, the red boy jumps at him and Tweek jumps back. (The first thing that came to mind was "Craig", but that couldn't be true. It just couldn't be. He knew Craig was an asshole, but he would never actually send people out to beat him up--would he?) The red boy jumps at him again and Tweek runs passed him, only to be grabbed by the green boy. "Where are you going, freak! You're not so tough without your boxing gloves now, are ya!" he taunts. "Tweek freak!"

"I don't want to fight!" Tweek says, and with a small serge of adrenaline, fights the green boy off. He takes off running as fast as he can, the rain stinging his face and eyes.

"Hey, get back here, FREAK!" 

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Tweek runs and runs until there is a slip at a step. There's an intense pain felt in his ankle. He feels himself tumble down towards the concrete and the world seems to go in slow motion. A slow dread fills him as he hits the sidewalk, bruising his arm and hip. He struggles to get back on his feet, but immediately stops when he hears the two boys yelp in pain. Tweek wipes the rain out of his eyes and looks back to see what happened. There, he found the two bullies on the ground and a proud Eric Cartman standing over them. 

"Stay away from him, you turd burglars!" he hears Cartman say. 

The red boy is the first to stand back up, a bruise on his cheek from the smack down. "Stay outta this, lard ass. This is what he gets."

"For what?" Cartman asks.

"He called Craig a liar and cheat, but HE'S the liar and cheat! Everyone at your school hates Craig now. He can't get away with that."

Tweek tries to explain. "I never meant to--"

But Cartman interrupts: "--All couples fight and say things they don't mean." (And Tweek was sure Cartman had a lot of experience in that area.) "He was just so upset at the time that he just said things to hurt Craig. It was because he himself was hurting. Everybody does this." (Way to complicate things even more, Eric. But Tweek had to admit that he was right. For somebody that was very aggressive and far from gentle, he seemed to know an awful lot about love and affection. Eric was even responsible for a couple of matches, from what Tweek had heard.) "Now fuck off."

For a moment, the three of them just stare each other down, huffing in exhaustion. Then, the red boy finally says, "This isn't over." And with that, the bullies rush off.


	7. Mister Reality

"Oh, man," Tweek winced. "What have I put myself into? Who were those guys?"

"Train and Luke," Cartman explained. "They used to go to school with us, but were sent to High Tower. I think Craig still keeps in touch with them from time to time."

(High Tower, as in the school for delinquents? Oh, geez! But the more Tweek thought about it, the more it made sense. Craig was a bit of a troublemaker himself, so of course he would have friends in that area. But then he wondered what kind of troublemaking you had to do to be sent there, considering how bad Cartman was and a number of other kids at their own school.) Tweek's sprained ankle ached with every step, even though most of his weight was now leaning on Cartman. All these bruises from just toppling over onto the sidewalk--he was such a thin, frail kid. He really needed to eat better; as in more than coffee and junk foods. With the whole foods South Park now had, he was given the opportunity to start eating healthy at a young age. 

"Don't worry about them buttholes." (God, did ALL boys smell this bad? Was that HIM or Cartman? So that's what the girls were talking about. Ah, the wonders of puberty: sweat glands, acne and sexual frustration.) "You just worry about settling things with Craig."

Why him out of all people? Why did Eric care so much? The very kid helping him limp down the road had probably beat up more kids than Train and Luke combined. Had this whole nonsense made him soft-hearted too, gotten to him like it had gotten to the rest of the town?

"I don't think he wants to talk to me ever again."

"Oh, trust me, he does."

"How do you know?"

"Don't argue with me, Tweek." (Tweek then had a visual of Cartman saying his infamous 'Respect mah authoritah' and smiled at the thought.)

Cartman walks him most of the way. When they stopped right in front of 'Ruffians', a local gay bar, Tweek was unsure of what to think. He thought for sure that Cartman stopped them there just to throw out a gay pun, but he didn't. "Well, here's my stop," Eric says, slowly letting Tweek back on his feet. "Can you stand?"

Tweek wobbles out of Cartman's hold. Once on his own two feet, he could already feel his swelled ankle tighten in his sock and shoe. "Yeah. It hurts, but I can make it back home from here." As much as he wanted to know why Eric was stopping here, Tweek was not going to risk offending his rescuer. "Thank you for all that, Cartman. I owe you."

"It was no problem, dude," Eric assured. "Those vagina faces were asking for it. You be weary of them two, especially Train. He's always been trouble."

Hearing Cartman say that made him wonder if he was in danger. And he wasn't sure if he liked the idea of walking home alone now. "Uh, okay."

Cartman steps up to the door. "This is for you and Craig." Oh, boy. He was in one of those moods again. Tweek often saw it when he thought that Kyle was conspiring against the country or something. The shit this kid said. "This will decide your destiny."

Cartman then steps inside and Tweek limps the rest of the way home safely. When he got home, he didn't tell his parents what happened and tried to hide that he was injured in any way. They were already distraught from the whole break up thing. He took a nice, hot shower. Then once he dried off, wrapped his ankle up and laid in his bed. As he laid there with his thoughts, his father crying in the kitchen right below him, he was feeling something new. It was a lot like the guilt earlier that day, only much worse. His chest felt grey and dry. Tweek believed he was finally feeling what all those story books and movies were talking about: his heart was broken. He did not feel any sadness from the staged break up, but he was feeling it now, and it was terrible. But it wasn't so powerful that he was trembling. In fact, he hardly felt like moving at all. All he wanted to do was sleep. (He imagined himself joining the goths to wither away in blackness and recite crappy emo poetry. Or become one of the vampires. Even if they were posers, at least they were more fun and expressive than the goths or emos.)

He woke up later in the night and found a mysterious man sitting across his room. How long had he been there? He was in a suit, wore a cloak, top hat and mask. Tweek was surprisingly not afraid of him. He wasn't even creeped out, but he was confused. 

"Hey, kid," the man says. "What are you doing?"

"I don't really know."

"So you're just gonna lay on your ass for a week? Because you're sad?"

"I guess so."

"You're wondering what you did wrong. And you know exactly what you did wrong, but don't want to admit it."

"Enlighten me."

"You're sad because you broke up with Craig. You're sad because he is mad at you. You're sad because the whole town is sad. And you like Craig. Maybe even have a crush on him, and you didn't even know it until you fought to lose it."

"DO I like him that way?"

"How the hell should I know? Go find out yourself. But let me tell you this: it's not going to be figured out in a day."

"How do I find out?"

"What do you think? Ask him out again."

"But he hates me."

"Well, laying on your ass and being sad won't solve anything. You're a big boy. Solve it yourself. Craig is the one that helped you. He changed you, and you owe him for that."

"I really do, don't I?"

By morning, the man was gone.


	8. The Fever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I really went through with this just to have Kenny and Butters look after him while he was sick. Also, I wanted to include Charlotte somewhere : ) Also, 40 kudos in just two or three days?? Thank you! I hope you enjoy the rest of this story. (And hopefully, the rest of it isn't as bad as this chapter.)

Getting up the next morning was heavy and strange. Tweek knew he was running a fever, but still readied himself for school as he normally did. Guess the shower didn't help after all. It was like all of his bones were missing and the leftover skin gained a few pounds. He wobbled down the stairs, told his parents and they took his temperature. He ended up being sent back to bed. It definitely could have been worse. At least he didn't have a raspy throat. It was just a small chill. Tweek had planned on staying home and sleeping it off, hoping to sweat it out by tomorrow, but then he remembered the dream he had last night. He remembered his conversation with the mystery man and could not stop thinking about it. The words repeated in his head until he forced himself out of bed and walked to school near midday. He knows this isn't a good idea. He still hadn't recovered, and for all he knew, this was the start of some kind of flu. Or maybe he was just losing his mind and body. I mean, who actually WANTS to go to school?

But he just had to get this over with. He needed to set things straight. While Tweek was isolating himself at home and given a chance to avoid reality, Craig was dealing with utter humiliation with each passing second at school. (Because as it turned out, the whole staged break up was a complete waste of time. The Asian girls were still drawing them, just with tears and rain and heartbreak. And people were still buying the art for some reason.) 

Once he's there, no one seems to notice or act any differently--as in still frowning and being melodramatic about it all. Tweek just walks in and lingers among the crowds, heading to the class of the hour. (There, people asked about his absence, and he gives them a little white lie to save time.) Tweek was aching all over and hungry. It probably wasn't the best idea to leave without eating breakfast, and lunch hours had already passed. All this crap from just a little rain? But in despite, Tweek was glad he decided to come to school.

He just wants to see him. That's all he wants. But he doesn't see him for a while, and Tweek begins to wonder if he had decided to skip today. It was completely understandable if he did. 

Tweek's body gave in not but two hours later. He doesn't remember ever falling to the floor or all the kids that came rushing to his side. When he came to, there was a large white blur and he heard Kenny's muffled voice: "Mm! Mm-mm. Eeeeeeeer mm."

"Kenny?" Tweek says, rubbing his eyes. "What happened?"

"Ooo eeee ll."

His vision steadies. He sees that he is lying in a bed at the nurses' office. "I fell? When?"

"Mmmm, hmm-hmm."

"Kenny, why are you in a dress?" (And more importantly, why did you feel the need to wear your jumpsuit under it?) 

"Eee mmah uur eeng drrr."

"It's your nursing dress. Of course. Right, right. Need your nursing dress for nursing me." Tweek wasn't sure if that was meant to be insultingly sarcastic or considerate. He didn't even know what he was doing right now. This just wasn't the most normal thing to wake up to.

Kenny asks if he would like some coffee: "Mm-mm?"

"Please."

(--But then again: What was 'normal' anymore? What did anyone in this godforsaken town know about normal. All around, there were indirect, dim-witted adults who never listened to the kids. Because even when kids are right, they are wrong. And ironically, those kids probably knew more about the world than they did. Now with all these immigrants coming and going, we have to ask ourselves: Are they also not human, like us? Do they not have loved ones and dreams? And in response to this, Mr. Garrison had been fired for his intolerance and racism. (We also have to note that a couple of years back, he refused to teach evolution because he CHOSE to not understand it.) It was sad to watch him go, but then again it was probably a good thing that he left. Now that left Tweek with himself: Was he himself born crazy and neurotic, or was he the victim of a backwards society? Was he a closeted gay boy, now realizing his feelings as the town changed and became more open-minded? Was he experiencing his first love? He thinks that he is. He's never felt this way about anyone. And for all he knew, Kenny was a straight cross-dresser and/or transgender, and Cartman was bi-curious--because why the hell not be either?--)

Kenny arrives with his cup, cutting through his racing thoughts. "Aaaa uuu eeer oooo oooo a oooooo eee a feee eer?"

"Oh, uh, I don't know. I guess I just got bored of staying home." He lets out a nervous chuckle. "I know. Not smart."

Then, a third voice is heard. It's warm and friendly. "Hey, buddy." (Butters did not normally say 'buddy'. Skyping with Charlotte must have gotten him into the habit of saying it.)

"Butters?" Tweek smiles. "What are you doing here?"

"Eric asked me to look after you." He lowers his voice for what he has to say next. "He told us that you were ambushed by Craig's friends yesterday."

"Us?"

"Kenny and me." (Oh. Well, he really wouldn't have been surprised if he had told the whole school.) "But get this: Eric told me that he told Craig about them and HE said that he had nothing to do with them. He stopped being friends with them years ago." (Honestly, he loved hearing Butters trying to explain things. His voice made everything he said sound adorable.)

"Huh. Weird."

"But Eric also had a little talk with Train and Luke."

Oh, geez. "What did he say to them?"

He shrugs. "I don't know. Eric just told me that they ended up 'having a change of heart', whatever that means." (Tweek didn't care if 'a change of heart' meant having a threesome with them. He just wanted them to not ambush him on the streets again.)

At that moment, Butter's phone goes off and he reaches down into his pocket. "Wuup!"

"Who's that?" Tweek asks.

"Oh, it's Charlotte," he says, sliding the safety lock off and answering his Skype. "Hullo, Charlotte!"

"Hullo, Butters! How are you?"

"I'm with Tweek now." He turns the screen over to Tweek in the bed, and Tweek waves.

"Hullo, Tweek. Butters told me you weren't feeling so well. Are you ulright?" Her voice and accent was also just adorable. Perfect with Butters. Both of them were just so freaking cute. And if they were to have kids, they would be cute.

He nods and smiles. "Yeah, I'm feeling a little better. Thank you."

This is just what Tweek needed to recover.


	9. Making Amends

Tweek walks down to the Tucker household with many scenarios in mind between himself and their eldest. Just like before, he has no real idea of what to say. He doesn't even know where to start. Hopefully, if Tweek was able to get passed Mr. Tucker and spend a moment alone with Craig, the right words would come out. He had to do this, otherwise his nights would continue to be haunted by the mystery man until it was done.

He steps up to the Tucker door quickly, as to not give himself time to hesitate and turn around. And just as he feared, it was his father that answered. "Hi. Is Craig here, sir?"

Mr. Tucker, resentful and intimidating, is not even trying to hide his disliking of him. The disgust is clear on his face and Tweek expects some kind of insult. "Why can't you quit him?" He is about to slam the door in his face, nearly blocking the opportunity and leaving Tweek to plan another meeting in the future. Then his wife scolds him and Mr. Tucker scoffs, stepping back and opening the door back up for him. "Five minutes. He's in the back."

Tweek steps inside, passing Mr. Tucker and then Mrs. Tucker, who looks down at him sadly, sympathetically. At the back wall are the sliding doors, and through them, he sees the blue boy. He seems to be working on his bike. There is a drop of dread as he walks over to the back wall and slides the door open. "Hey, dude."

He doesn't expect him to be happy to see him, and he is right. "What do YOU want?" Craig says, angrily, not moving from his bike.

Tweek closes the door behind him and steps out onto the porch. "I thought when we broke up, everything would get better." It was already starting out awkwardly, and the rest was probably not going to come out right, but he had to try. "I was thinking that--maybe--we should say we're back together."

Craig stands up from his bike and takes a couple of heavy steps towards him. "Dude, I'm not gay and neither are you!"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"You think you could just pull that shit you pulled at school--saying that I step on people and I use them--and I'll just take you back!"

"You said to make it seem real."

"Not THAT real!" he says, stepping back down to his bike to continue working on it. "Now everyone thinks I'm a manipulative cheater. I'll never get any chicks!"

Hearing him get upset like this, like at school, Tweek felt gray and dry again. "I'm so sorry, Craig." That grayness reaches the bruises of his sides and the sprain in his ankle, somehow intensifying their pain. "You--you made me believe in myself in a way I never have before. I didn't think I had any of that in me, but it turns out you were right. I can do more than I think." Tweek starts walking slowly up to him. "You changed something in me and I just--I want to fix whatever's hurting you now."

The blue boy slowly drops what he was doing and there is a pause. And with his back to him, Tweek cannot see what he is feeling, cannot see if he is blue on the inside. "It would never work, Tweek. You can't be with me."

"Why not?"

"It's like I said: We're too different. And you're not safe with me. Being with me will only hurt you." (Tweek wonders if he is referring to Train and Luke.) "You deserve someone better."

"I don't want anyone else." Well, he finally said it. No taking it back.

But Craig does not seem to be surprised by this. His next response is spoken with much empathy, almost as if he had known about him the entire time. "You will find that person, whoever it is, but it is not me."

"Please. I'll do anything to fix this. I don't want to leave you like this."

There is another pause, then Craig says, "I can't be something because everyone wants me to be. I just have to be myself. You'll just have to go be gay with someone else." 

Tweek gives in. If it is something that he does not want, then he will not force him into it. "Alright, Craig. Alright." 

And with that, Tweek escorts himself out the back gate.


	10. Craig's Decision

As Tweek wandered around the whole foods, he thought of all the times he had spent with Craig. He thought of them and how they were before all this mess.

**[..."Hey, Tweek," he hears Kyle call beyond the roar of the mini-saw. (Or sander? Whatever.)**

**Tweek jumps, turning a sharp turn in their direction, "HAH!" (It was how he said 'yeah' or 'what's up?' back then.)**

**"Dude, Craig chooses you," Kyle suddenly says. "He wants to fight."**

**There's a sharp ticking of his neck. "He DOES?"**

**"Yeah, he's all pissed off at you. So will you fight him?"**

**"WHYY?" There is a blend of confusion and frustration in the response. Why was some random guy just pissed off at him? Why did he all of a sudden want to fight? And why did that random guy also send a couple of other guys to tell Tweek he wanted to fight? He really should have looked passed that whole encounter.**

**"Because, dude, you have to stand up for yourself," Kyle adds. "So will you fight him?"**

**Tweek glances over at his supposed challenger across the room. He saw Craig go through some sawed-up wood in a box and somehow found that intimidating. "AH! He doesn't look like he wants to fight me." And standing over by his supposed challenger is Cartman and by then, he should have definitely understood what was going on. (According to Craig, Cartman specifically told him that Tweek referred to him as a "big poop eater". That asshole. One moment, he's trying to trick them into fighting each other and the next, he's trying to play matchmaker and hook them up...)]**

One day, this was going to be funny to look back at. It was a bit embarrassing for a while after, but Tweek and Craig soon made peace with the memory of being tricked into a pointless fight. And now, it was a little sad. But one day, he would find it all funny.

**[...After the fight, Tweek and Craig hung out a few times. Come to think of it, that's how a lot of guys become friends. They're tricked into beating each other up and then basically become each other's wing men in little games after. The Stick Of Truth was one of Tweek's favorite games to play, where he ended up being Craig's partner in battle. (And come to think of it, Cartman was once again, the one who paired them up.)**

**He remembers just standing there next to Craig, shirtless and painted in black stripes, and Craig asking him, "Dude, aren't you cold?"**

**"No. WHY?"**

**"I have an extra shirt in my bag. You can borrow it if you want..."]**

Tweek thought and thought these past times over and over. There were many and a lot of them were not too interesting to hear about, but they meant something to him. He thought and thought of them until the blue boy suddenly joined him from across the street. Tweek is too surprised to say anything. Craig does not say anything either. Instead, Craig turns to his front and for a moment, Tweek thought he was going to continue walking down the sidewalk. But then, Craig extends his hand out to his side. The message is clear and does not need to be explained, but Tweek is still puzzled. Did he not reject him not too long ago? What suddenly changed his mind?

It was not expected to happen, but when it did, Tweek was unsure of how to feel about it all. He slid his hand into Craig's and felt complete joy. And they brought complete joy to the pedestrians as they walked down passed the market hand in hand. But Tweek could feel Craig's uncertainty. More than not, Craig felt obligated to do this. It was really the only way to fix the situation they had created for themselves. And Tweek was not going to kid himself. He knew Craig did not like him as much as he liked him. There was a big chance that they would not last and as much as tried to prepare for that moment, Tweek knew it was going to hurt him deeply. This was his first love, and first loves rarely last.

In despite of the reality, it was a walk to remember. It was a time of South Park when all the people seemed to be at peace and overwhelmed with the idea of an ultimate love. The walk down passed the market was quiet and uncomfortable. Their hands unlocked when their palms became hot and sweaty. Then things became normal once at the game store, where Craig bought a new video game with the money his father gave him.

"Dude, your dad gave you a hundred bucks?" Tweek said. "What the heck?"

"Yep. Might as well buy something. You want anything?"

Tweek blushes lightly. "Nah, I'm fine."

"Come on, what do you want? You want a snack or anything?"

Craig refused to leave without buying him something. In the end, they ended up buying a new game and crunch candy bar and went over to Tweek's house to play. It was awesome. They were having fun, even as fake boyfriends, and the town was happy too.

Saying goodbye was a little awkward, though. Tweek did not know whether to escort him out and wave goodbye or to hug him or kiss him. Scratch that last part. Kissing was probably never going to happen. And so, Tweek just waved goodbye. But before he closed the door on him, Craig said, "Hey. No hug?"

"Oh," Tweek says, biting his lip nervously. "Sorry. I don't want to make you feel like--"

"It's just a hug, dude."

Tweek laughs and walks into Craig's embrace, holding him close. The most enduring part of the embrace was not Craig's strong arms, not his scent--but his nose and lips dipping into his shoulder. Tweek could have sighed and fainted.


	11. Ninja Nonsense

There was a time of peace and love, but it was not long before South Park went back to being a place of outrageous happenings. Somehow, SoDaSopa went out of business. The building was abandoned and turned into a tower of graffitied rubble around Kenny's home. The rubble attracted lots of homeless people. Somehow, there was double or even triple the amount of homeless in South Park. Tweek did not remember ever seeing this many homeless! Where did they all come from? And what a time for Kenny's home to be invaded because South Park all of a sudden decided that they were too good and "too progressive" to have cops. (Also, the oldest known policeman sorta kinda shot a six-year-old child during the school's code red. So. Yeah.) And with that, Kenny had to be rid of the trespassers himself. And you know how he did that? By gathering up Token, Clyde and David and dressing up like ninjas, whom the homeless mistook for Islamic terrorists. The homeless migrated to the town square, where they disturbed a lot of the people who then claimed to be "too progressive" to give them money. (Whenever Tweek's air-headed parents would ask him to run to the market to fetch a few things, he would shriek, "HAH! No! Too many homeless! Too much pressure! They'll jump me for sure.")

Tweek and Craig found out the same way, and the rest of their friends probably found out the same way as well: Cartman. Not by NEWS4. That came later. They heard about it by Cartman running down the road and screaming like a madman about how Kenny and Tolken were gay. (And just "being gay" could mean a lot of things.) And that wasn't even half of what was going on. And considering who was reporting it, and how far he would have gone for the sake of attention, it may have not been true at all. So a lot of them just ignored him and forgot about it. Later, NEWS4 went up to the rubble to interview the "bad kids" that apparently robed themselves up and swore loyalty to ISIS. (Only in a small mountain town primarily populated by detached, racist white people.) **"Are your children being lured into terrorist organizations? A shocking report says that some kids in the town of South Park are swearing loyalty to a murderous regime."**

[The screen switches to footage of the rubble and the "bad kids". The first to catch Tweek's eye was a rash, fat ninja--obviously Cartman:] "Yeah, we're pretty bad and because this is like, our fortress, and as you can see it's pretty kewl."

**"And what about this way of life is attractive to you?"**

[A braced ninja with an adorable voice:] "We're just cool because we're tough and we fight and we--"

"Yeah, yeah--" [Cartman steps out in front of Butters, stealing the spotlight] "--we can do whatever we want and people are scared of us and it's totally rad."

Tweek could not believe what he was hearing. What the hell was going on? And Tweek was pretty sure that the bad kids did not know of the town's accusations. (Oh, geez. Danger! This is very dangerous! Too much pressure. Why do you guys do such dangerous things?) He saw the interview and made out the more obvious ones. There was Cartman, Butters, Token...

That was Kenny's house, so Kenny was there somewhere. That should have been the first person to come to mind. Also, Tweek thought he heard the name 'Stan'. And if Stan was there, so was Kyle. They were inseparable. (Except when it came to Xboxes and PS4s, then they might declare war upon each other.) The rest of them Tweek could not guess.

Later in the interview, the conspicuous fat one yelled: "...HOW COULD I SAY SOMETHING HOMOPHOBIC ABOUT THE WAY TWEEK AND CRAIG MAKE LOVE?" And Tweek buried his face in his hands, his entire face blushing a deep red. He couldn't help but mumble a 'Goddamn it, Cartman'.   

When the door bell rang, Tweek jumped, "HAH! Oh, geez." He turns off the TV and answers the door.

It was Craig. "Hey, dude."

"Hey," Tweek says, letting him in. "Have you seen the news?"

"No. Why?"

Tweek thought of Cartman's outburst and blushed again. "Uh, n-nothing. Nevermind."

"Was it about the ISIS kids?"

"Yeah."

"It's not ISIS. It's just the guys dressing up like ninjas and scaring people."

"Why are they dressed like ninjas?"

"Beats me," Craig says, shrugging. "I guess they're just playing."

"Does the town know that?"

"Know what?"

"That it's really just a bunch of kids playing ninjas?"

"Doesn't look it."

"Well, then...should we tell them?"

"Nah, they'll be fine," Craig insists. "It's just all for laughs. Jimmy and I are gonna go and check it out. Wanna come?"

Tweek starts getting nervous. "Oh, geez. That sounds kinda dangerous. The town thinks they're ISIS and there are homeless people everywhere and--AH!"

In the middle of Tweek's trembling, Craig slowly walks up and gives the nervous boy a quick kiss on the cheek, immediately calming him down. "It's okay, dude."

If it were not for his skin and bones, Tweek would have melted at Craig's small kiss. But even so, he still had a bad feeling with the whole idea. "Well, okay. It's at Kenny's place, right?"

"Yep."

Tweek slides his hand into Craig's and gives it a light squeeze. "Go ahead. I'll meet you there."


	12. The Bullet

Jimmy, robed completely in black with only the eyes and hands exposed, later met up with Craig. It actually looked really cool! (But Tweek wondered how he got into it. Did he do it himself? Did his father help him? And if he did, he wondered what his father thought of this whole thing.) Tweek watched them walk down the street from his living room window. He watched them until they disappeared into the woods, following a short cut to Kenny's house and avoiding the homeless at the town square. Then, Tweek returned to his chores. When he finished for the day, he headed out into the night. 

He thought the mystery man would go away, and he did for that time of peace. But he later came back to haunt his nights with warnings of Train and Luke. He also warned him of getting too close to Craig, a boy that would more than likely not share the same strong affections as he. ("Keep your distance," he would say. "Keep things slow. Don't rush things. Don't expect him to stay with you.") Even while out to play on this cold night of nights, the mystery man followed him, pestering him with things that Tweek could not tell were more advice or orders. 

"Go through the woods. Too many homeless out that way." (Well, yeah. No shit.)

He could be very nerve-racking, but his conversations helped pass the time. Just to be safe, Tweek trailed down beside the road, where the lamp posts shed a little light on his path to Kenny's. Halfway down, a car came speeding down the road, the screeching tires throwing tiny bits of gravel in Tweek's direction. (Geez! What the heck. You shouldn't be driving that fast.) It looked a lot like Randy Marsh's car. Stan was probably one of the ninjas after all, and Randy was rushing to pick him up, to take him away from this nonsense. 

"Do you know your way?"

"A bit. I think we're almost there."

"Bright idea to come out here without a fucking flashlight." (Hehe. Tweek had to admit, that was very punny.)

"I didn't think it would get dark so quickly."

"It's basically winter here all year round. How can you people stand it? And in winter, it gets dark early. Have you ever stepped out of your house--ever?" 

"Not really." The reality hurt a bit, but it was true. He really didn't venture out much until recent years. No one ever invited him to do things. He was just the crazy kid who preached about underpants-stealing gnomes. He didn't get out much--not until the Stick Of Truth--one of the best times of his life! Cartman was willing to gather as many kids as possible for his "army", even to go as far as to ask a weirdo like himself. (But then again, it was actually Craig who suggested he come along and play. Cartman just agreed to it.)

"Maybe he really likes you," the man then says, as if sensing what Tweek is thinking about. (Strange. He wasn't normally this encouraging.)

"Maybe. Maybe not. I don't know."

"And the kiss?"

"Friends can kiss."

"True. Both of you are still learning."

"Yeah."

"You're a sweet kid, Tweek. I wish life were nicer to you."

"My life is alright. The town is really messed up, but they're getting better."

"Shit. They're all shit and you know it."

"People can change."

"They can, but rarely because they want to. It usually takes effort--"

A nearby explosion of some sort cuts through their voices. There is only one fire, and it is very faint but Tweek can feel the gun shot in his very core, as if the bullet were meant for him. And in his pierced core, he can also feel a sad premonition. "HAH! What was that? Was that at Kenny's?" (Oh, geez! Oh, no. No, no. This wasn't good. Not good at all. He knew it! He knew this wouldn't end well.)

He starts running.

"Tweek! Don't! It could be dangerous! You don't know what's going on!"

Tweek ignores him, and is able to make him disappear into the night with blinding fear. Tweek runs and runs on into the black forest, his mind racing with thoughts of Craig getting shot and dying. He was surely overreacting. He always overreacted. Maybe no one got hurt. Maybe it was just a warning shot. (Please. Please no. Please don't be hurt. Please be okay. Please.)

He runs and runs until he hears the familiar voice, monotone and nasally: "--Tweek!"

"HAH! Craig? Is that you?" He stops and reaches out into blackness. "Where are you?"

There are some crunchy steps heard and Tweek is able to make out two bodies. He sees the blue boy and the yellow puff on top of his hat; Jimmy with his glistening crutches behind him. "Oh, thank god!" Tweek runs and jumps for Craig, wrapping his arms around his neck and pulling him close. "You're not hurt, are you?"

Craig hugs him back, kissing into his blonde hair to calm him down. "No. I'm not hurt. We need to get home. Now."


	13. Hospital Trip

All that were involved in the assault were told to go the hospital the following evening. There, the kids endured a bullshit lecture from the mayor and their parents about the danger they brought upon themselves and the town. When really, the outcome of their lecture came back to them and they didn't even realize it. This pretty much happened every single time the kids just wanted to have fun. Or tried to solve all the things the adults wouldn't. You know, like the homeless trespassing on Kenny's property. Who were the ones that said, 'Blame Canada'? Who were the ones that said, 'Fuck them all to death'? Who were the ones that said, 'Fuck the police'? Oh, right: the adults. But remember, even when kids are right, they are wrong.

Afterwards, all the kids sat and waited to see the recovering Token. It probably wasn't going to happen that night. The hours passed and it was getting later and later, but they waited anyways. It was the thought that counted. Tweek sat next to the distraught Kenny, wrapping an arm around him and trying to say comforting things. (Made him think of warrior Tweek protecting a distressed Princess Kenny.) It hurt seeing poor Kenny in such a state, trembling with guilt and anxiety. Such a feeling was all too familiar to him and he'd rather feel it for his friend than watch him go through it himself. 

"Eeee aaaa eeee uuuuuu," Kenny mumbled, covering his face with his hands.

Tweek pats his shoulder. "No, it's not your fault. You guys were just trying to have fun, all the while scaring the homeless away from your house."

"Right," the sensible Stan agreed from the wall over. (Poor Kyle was at home, enduring another bullshit lecture from his parents on the whole ISIS and Jewish people thing.) "You were just trying to help your family. You didn't know things would get out of hand."

As Tweek held Kenny, Craig was holding Tweek on his opposite side. He had a hand around Tweek's waist. His hold was gentle and tender. It was the smallest, lightest touch but it made his chest tighten and warm. He was so amazing and he didn't even know.

And while Tweek and Stan were trying to comfort Kenny, Cartman teased them all in his boredom. "Told you they [Kenny and Token] were gay." This guy just could never be nice. It was like he was born just to make everyone's life miserable. (Or amusing if you have a sick, twisted sense of humor.) 

Remembering the breath-taking grief he had struggled with the night before and struggling with Kenny's grief at the moment, Tweek was in no mood to even pretend to be nice. "Fuck off, Cartman." To everyone's surprise, Tweek threw a book, specifically the Holy Bible that is placed in every waiting room, at Cartman's head. (When it hits him, there is a loud 'OW'.) "This never would have happened if it weren't for you."

Everyone goes quiet, all except for Craig, who is laughing hard. "Dude, you threw the Bible at him." 

"I'll let you hit me, Tweek, but only because you're one of the girls now. So I'll let that slide."

"You are a racist, condescending douchebag!"

"Oooh, you gonna have your boyfriend beat me up? Or Kenny, you wanna talk to Tweek and calm him down? Like, you know, girl to girl?"

"He doesn't need me to fight for him," Craig insists. "He can already fight very well. I should know. No thanks to YOU guys." (There is a nervous 'hehe' from Stan as he hunches over and scratches the back of his head in embarrassment.) "If he fights you, you're on your own."

"It was ISIS that was racist, not me," Cartman corrected. "They specifically said that Jews were not allowed to become ninjas. I was just following the rules..."

At that moment, a shadow catches Tweek's eye. He realizes what he is seeing and feels the slow dread again. Cartman's senseless rambling and Craig's arguments are muffled in the dread and curiosity. 

("...Why wasn't it YOU that got shot?")

("What!")

("I'm just saying what everyone is thinking.")

("The cops can't shoot me. I'm not a minority. Cops will only shoot minorities. That's why a lot of them join the force...") 

Tweek slowly stands up, slowly slides out of Craig's gentle hold, excusing himself to get the distressed Kenny some water. 

("...Oh, where you going girlfriend? You got to take care of your period?")

While everyone is distracted, Tweek walks over to the corner, meeting up with Train and Luke in secret.


	14. Threats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Pardon the intrusion: My homemaker mother just started advertising for a group called "Jewelry In Candles" :) They make candles that when fully melted away, reveal a piece of jewelry at the bottom! It would be greatly appreciated if you checked out her page :) If you don't want to, that's okay too :) But if you did, thank you for the look!) 
> 
> http://www.jewelryincandles.com/store/donna777
> 
> ********************

Tweek walks over to the shadowy corner to meet with Train and Luke. It was time to settle things.

"Relax," Train says, a hint of smug mockery heard in his voice. "We're not here to beat you up, as much as I want to. You're so puny." 

"A lot like that Ian kid," Luke adds. (Who? Whoever "Ian" was, one thing was for sure: It was a kid they had bullied before.) Train nudges at Luke, a clear sign for him to be quiet, like he had just said something forbidden. 

Tweek quickly overlooks the random comparison and does not know whether to laugh or be afraid of Train's "puny" comment. "Ah. Alright."

"If you ruin him a second time, we will beat you to a pulp," Luke then says, getting to the point. "You got lucky."

"I would never hurt him on purpose." It was the truth. (Cartman, on the other hand...)

"Oh, like you didn't hurt him at school by calling him a liar and a cheat in front of everyone?" (How did they even know all the details? They weren't even there. It made Tweek wonder if some loud mouth among their school group was giving them a little insight.)

"We were acting. We were trying to stage a break up so the Asian girls would stop drawing pictures of us."

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"Ask Craig yourself."

"So you were staging a break up and yet ended up being together anyway?"

Tweek laughs nervously. "Yeah. Funny how things turn out."

"So what are you, fake boyfriends?" Luke asks. "All because a bunch of girls want you to be?"

"It started off that way. It was the only thing that fixed the situation we put ourselves in. But recently, it seems like it has grown into something more."

"That's just your imagination. Craig doesn't love you. He's always liked chicks."

"I wouldn't be surprised if that is how it turned out to be."

"You still went too far," Train insists.

Tweek nods. "I agree. I did. I don't know what happened. I just went with it. He wanted a believable performance and I tried my best just for him."

"I still don't like you."

"I don't expect you to like me."

At that moment, Craig suddenly stepped from around the corner, taking the three boys by surprise. Blue stills at the sight of red and green. His eyes are first wide with shock, then they squint in anger, as if a bad past time was flashing before him. "What the fuck are YOU doing here? What have you been doing to Tweek?"

Train smirks. It appeared that his obvious sadism went into challenging friendships and other partnerships. "Oh, just making sure your fake boyfriend is treating you right."

"I told you to get the fuck out of my life."

"Like I said, we're just checking on a friend is all. We heard you were involved in the shooting and wanted check on ya. So you were in ISIS? Geez. We knew you were crazy, but ISIS?"

"TRAIN isn't even that fucked up," Luke jokes.

"Hey, don't knock beheading goats and bombing Jews until you've tried it," Train then says and the two boys bust out laughing.

But Craig isn't laughing. "You are NOT my friends. You never were."

The laughter dies down and for the first time, Tweek sees the same seriousness and sadness in Train's eyes that Craig sometimes had in his. "What happened to you? You used to beat the shit out of anyone that insulted you. Then you grew fucking SOFT. You used to be so cool." 

"I changed because I needed to," Craig then says. "Otherwise I would have turned out like you two sickos." And with that, Craig takes Tweek's hand in his. "Come on, let's get out of here."


	15. Let Me Try Something

Tweek and Craig say their goodbyes and walk out, hand in hand. Randy Marsh asks if they need a ride and they declined out of decency. Once out the double doors and into the black night, Tweek lingers a bit closer to Craig, constantly checking his surroundings. "You-you think they would follow us?"

"Not if you are with me, they won't." The blue boy says that so casually and yet with such confidence. A lot like how he said most things. How could he be so sure about that? What was it about Craig that stopped Train and Luke? What was it about him that brought their guard down? What was their history? As much as Tweek wanted to know about their past time, he did not ask.

**[...This was the same kid that didn't know how to fight when put against him, right? (Tweek didn't know how to fight either, but that's beside the point.)**

**When they were--I suppose you could say "summoned"--after school for the match, the two of them stood into place and stared at each other for a good ten seconds. The kids wait and grow impatient. Then Craig finally turns to them all and asks what Tweek was thinking also: "What do we do?" (Both of them would have never admitted it at the time, but that was the very reason either of them showed up for the first "summoning".)**

**"What do you mean, 'What do you do?'" Cartman then says. "Just fight each other!"**

**"HOW?" Tweek then says, agreeing with his opponent.**

**Kyle looks just as confused and disappointed as everyone else. "What?"**

**"I've never been in a fight before," Craig then bravely confesses.**

**"ME NEITHER."**

**I mean, this WAS the same kid, right? He couldn't have been the bad kid that "beat kids to a pulp" Train mentioned...]**

They walk to Craig's house since it was closer.

"Tweek?" Mr. Tucker says once he opens the door and let's the boys inside. "Why aren't you home?"

"He wants to see Stripe," Craig explains, pulling Tweek quickly passed his father to the stairs. "It'll be just for a few minutes, dad."

As they climb up the stairs, they hear Mr. Tucker cynically mumble a 'yeah, right', but it is easily ignored. They stop at Craig's room and open the door, the peculiar scent of filthy hay hitting Tweek's face. Out from beneath Craig's messy bed sprints his guinea pig Stripe, squeezing and stopping under his dresser. Tweek makes a comment on how adorable Stripe is and Craig's sister can be heard shouting from outside: "--Keep the door open!"

(While Tweek is looking under the dresser for Stripe, Craig fights his sister off by mumbling, "What could possibly happen? Tweek getting knocked up with our gay baby?") 

Craig closes the door anyway.

"Is it true that guinea pigs eat their own poop?" Tweek has no idea why he asked that. Probably just for conversation starters. (Or maybe he was suddenly reminded of the whole "big poop eater" thing.)

But Craig does not seem to care. He had probably been asked that question before. "Yep."

"Why?"

He shrugs. "It's clean and it's there if they are ever hungry. Convenience."

"Huh. If only human turds were like that." Not the most romantic conversation starter.

They sit on his bed, petting his guinea pig, exchanging mindless chatter. Craig gives a little insight on hanging out with the ninjas over at Kenny's place and watching Token get shot from afar. (--It was fucking crazy, man--) Then they talk about the past, mostly about their first fight. For one thing, both of them did not know that either of them showed up for the first gathering, which made them laugh a lot. (--So what were you doing?--I was at home, watching Red Racer--Haha!--) And if Tweek remembered correctly, Craig had apparently called him a big chicken and made chicken impersonations. (Or at least that's what their shit-kicker friend Kyle said.) Also, according to Cartman, Tweek said he shoved Stripe up his butt. (--I didn't even know you HAD a guinea pig--)

They talk and laugh and laugh--then, halfway--Tweek found himself looking at the blue boy and he is looking back at the blonde painfully. It's that same old look again, only much more intense. It's not a look of anger or disgust, just sadness, like Tweek reminded him of something that made him sad.

"What's wrong?" Tweek asks.

Craig shakes his head. "Nothing." There is a silence. It's a strange silence after a time of laughter. Then, Craig says, "Hey. I want to try something."

"Try what?"

Craig inches a little closer to the blonde. "Just something."

Tweek knows what he is about to try and while his body is suddenly stilled, his heart is racing. (He's going to kiss me. Oh, god. He's going to kiss me.) Tweek knows the thought is there, but is unable to read the signal. Craig brings both hands to Tweek's face and holds him for a light kiss on the lips.  


	16. Doubts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Updated a facebook page dedicated to my mom's store in "Jewelry In Candles" :) I run the facebook page. She runs the actual site :) Maybe you guys can add me as a friend or like the page ;D www.facebook.com/JICdonna777

Craig's lips are soft and warm. One of them is trembling and Tweek cannot tell if it is the boy kissing him or himself. Even if he is the one trembling, he is unable to respond. He's not sure what it is that is taking over his body right now. Shock? Fear? Doubt? The anticipation of arousal? All he can do is let out a deep, satisfied sigh. Craig gently pulls at his bottom lip, then Tweek feels something warm and wet and pulls away.

His hands still cupping his face, the blue boy looks at him confusingly and Tweek laughs nervously. "Sorry," he says, eyes downward. "I-I've never done that before."

Craig lowers his hands to Tweek's shoulders and half smiles. "Me neither."

"Really?" Was this really his first try? Surely he had quite a few kids wanting to get with him and try that with him.

"Well, not like that," Craig then corrects, and Tweek nods. (Ah. That makes more sense.)

Craig then removes his hands from Tweek, letting them settle down into the bed sheets. The two boys sit in silence for a bit, both with their eyes downward and inches from the other. This time, it is Tweek that slowly leans forward and locks lips, continuing the kiss and taking the blue boy by surprise. Craig responds by deepening the kiss, hands up and cupping his face again. The kissing is faster, more passionate this time, no longer under the constriction of overwhelming shock or uncertainty. Tweek does not even feel himself slowly being pushed back, descending down onto the bed. He lands on his back, the blue shadow over him--caressing his sides, his chest, his neck. Craig licks his lips again, and this time, he enters his hot mouth. Tweek can tell it is his first time tonguing someone. A lot of the time, Craig's tongue just sits in his mouth, as if he's not exactly sure what to do with it. Even so, it was wonderful--

(Wait. No. No, not yet. Slow down.) He is amazed that he is able to gain control over his thoughts, think objecting things. He is amazed that he is able to think worrisome things while being kissed and caressed in ways people dream of. When there is a break in Craig's tonguing, he says, "Wait." 

The kissing stops and Tweek sits up.

Craig is confused at first, then he is unable to directly look at him, like he is embarrassed. "That...that wasn't good, was it?"

Tweek couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had to stop himself from laughing at how adorable that sounded. "No! I-It was wonderful. You are a good kisser."

"Then what's wrong?" Craig almost sounds angry. It made him feel a little bad for stopping him.

"I just-I don't want to rush things." Tweek starts buttoning his shirt up and reaching for his sweater. "A-and I don't want to get you in trouble. I should probably go home. Yeah, I should. It's late." 

"Not by yourself." The angry tone is still there. It almost comes out as a command.

"I'll be fine, Craig," Tweek insists. "Don't worry."

"Message me when you're home."

"I will. I promise." He gives him a trembling kiss on the lips before walking out.

Once out in the night, the mystery man was there to meet with him and his confused thoughts.

"What's wrong?" the man asks.

Tweek finds himself shaking uncontrollably again for the first time in a while, but he is unable to shout his words like he used to. He can't tell if it is the cold or the anxiety coming back. "I-I don't know."

"You did the right thing."

"I don't know why I--oh, man--" He was panicking now. Why?

"It's okay, kid."

"Stop calling me kid!"

"Okay, alright."

"Oh, god--I--I think I really do love him."

"That's good."

"Then why am I panicking?"

"Calm down, Tweek. You're shaking again. Don't let that old life of fear consume you again. Breathe." Tweek nods in agreement and stops talking, trying to take a few deep breaths. (Calm down, heart. Calm down.) "That's good. Now, you need to go home now and get some rest."

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep."

"Well, then try, damn it! Look, this is all new to you. You're feeling and thinking new things. Each person responds to this kind of thing differently." Tweek is only able to nod his head. The panicking seems to have made him tired. "Come on, let's get you home safely. Those boys might be out here."

Tweek nods a second time, then starts walking in the direction of his house.

**[To be continued in: THE DAYS AFTER, PART TWO.]**


End file.
